Gillis J. Harp, in his terrific biography of Brooks (Brahmin Prophet: Phillips Brooks and the Path of Liberal Protestantism), shows how he helped guide the Episcopal Church into the liberal Protestant way of all mainline denominations. He helped move the church away from the centrality of the cross to focus mostly on the Incarnation - away from salvation by Christ alone to moral improvement.

Morning Star News reports that the dead include church members and pastors, while hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

Release International's Nigeria partner confirmed the reports. They said, "We are deeply saddened by these incidents and condemn these killings and attacks on innocent Christians during their worship."

Scripture gives some ray of hope but how long can I rely on scraps of paper written 2,000 and more years ago? "My soul magnifies the Lord," says the expectant Mary on learning that she will be the theotokos, the God-bearer. Where was her safety net, her retirement account, her Medicare supplement? I may have all of these and more, but a lot of good they're doing me in the depths of despair.

Vatican News is the Vatican's official Internet news portal which umbrellas Vatican Radio, L'Osservatore Romano -- daily newspaper -- and Vatican Media -- television station -- all under the oversight of the Dicastery for Communication.

The Catholic Church has just fallen down the same rabbit hole that the Church of England has by turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to sin in the name of pastoral accommodations.